


Prayer

by Runic



Series: Fire Emblem Non Explicit One Shots [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Byleth can hear prayers, Comfort, Confessions, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Suicidal Thoughts, Tea, light spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-10-11 09:34:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20543966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Runic/pseuds/Runic
Summary: When Sothis’ voice disappeared from Byleth’s head it was replaced by others. The one who truly concerned her was Marianne.





	Prayer

**Author's Note:**

> pokemagines tumblr is apparently just where I get all my prompt inspiration now.

When Sothis’ voice disappeared from Byleth’s head it was replaced by others. The first time she heard it she thought she was going insane. A constant stream of believers all praying for her to answer them flooded into her mind. She cried out, clutching at the sides of her head and sinking to her knees. They were tearing her mind apart, all begging for a wide arrange of things, but their voices ran together leaving her unable to make out anything specific in the cacophony. 

“Um, Professor? Are you all right?” 

Byleth focused on the voice. She needed to answer, but her voice was not working. It was being drowned out by the voices calling out to her. She dragged a deep breath into her lungs, somehow accomplishing the impossible task. It burned, and the pain gave her something else to focus on.

In. 

Out.

In. Out.

In and out. And once again.

By the time her door was opened, her non response causing even more concern, Byleth had regained enough of her composure that her face was not contorted with pain. The voices were still there, but no more than a dull buzz. 

“Um, I’m sorry, Professor, but I heard you call out.” Marianne peeked around the door, her eyes cast downward. 

“I’m all right, Marianne,” Byleth tried to reassure her, but her voice came out broken and weak.

It must have sounded worse than she thought, for Marianne’s head snapped up. Her eyes were wide with worry, and was not reassured by the sight of her rumpled Professor kneeling on the ground. “I-ah…” 

The girl clearly wanted to help, but was having trouble bringing herself to offer it.

“Would you like some tea?” Byleth winced as her voice continued to sound raspy. “I could use something calming right now, and I wouldn’t mind some company.”

“Oh.” Marianne hesitated for a moment before stepping fully into Byleth’s room. “All right.”

Byleth had never before focused so hard on making tea, but it allowed her to keep the voices at bay. And by the time she and Marianne were chatting and munching on small delicious cakes, Byleth could not hear them at all.

/

It was a matter of focus and willpower. It took her a few days to get the hang of it, in which her classes were noticeably shorter, and she was less accessible to her students. Byleth knew they were concerned, even Claude’s ever present fake smile failed when she dismissed them early the third day in a row. But she was not about to have a breakdown in front of them. That would only concern them even more, and she was not about to put that on them.

It took even longer for her to realize she could sort through the voices. When she allowed herself to focus on them she could pull a single thread from the ever changing tapestry of prayers. She could often hear familiar voices. Despite the guilty feeling of eavesdropping into their private lives, doing so allowed Byleth to keep her sanity when she could not fully block out the voices of the believers. Sometimes the scope of a puddle was much easier to take in than the expanse of the ocean.

Rhea wished to see her mother. Byleth started dropping off a bouquet of flowers at least once a week.

Ignatz was tormented as he asked for help being a good knight all while really wishing to paint. He did not know it, but those wishes slipped through in undertones. She would bring him pretty stones and flowers to make new pigments, offering encouragement whenever she caught sight of one of his paintings.

Mercedes was always praying for someone else besides herself. Mostly Byleth tried to join her when Mercedes was baking treats for her friends. Byleth did not actually do much to help, but Mercedes seemed to enjoy the company, and the rest of the Blue Lions always seemed to light up whenever they showed up to distribute their baked goods; even Felix who maintained his mantra of ‘I hate sweets.’

The less said about Claude’s almost blasphemous jokes and Sylvain absolutely over the line blasphemous flirtations the better.

And then there was Marianne. 

Marianne worried her most of all.

_ Please, Goddess, bring me to you. I do not wish to burden anyone anymore. _

Whenever she heard Marianne start to pray, Byleth would drop whatever she was doing, excusing herself from whatever meeting she was in, and headed to the cathedral. She would allow Marianne to finish her prayers, breaking the Professor’s heart with every word, before inviting her to tea. 

It became a daily ritual. Marianne would always say she was taking up too much of Byleth’s time, and Byleth would assure her that was not the case. In fact, her tea time with Marianne allowed Byleth a much needed break from the rest of her busy schedule. It did both of them good.

“Marianne, there is something I must admit to you,” Byleth said softly, about a month after their daily meetings had started. It was no longer fair to keep the truth from Marianne.

“Oh?” Marianne looked down, seeming to retreat back into her shell. Byleth repressed a sigh. The girl had been doing so well. “If you do not wish to continue our meetings, I will understand.”

“That is not it, Marianne.” Byleth reached out and placed a hand over Marianne’s, trying to comfort her. “I want you to know you are not a burden to anyone. You never have been.”

Byleth allowed the words to sink in, watching as Marianne’s eyes widened slightly.  _ Goddess no, how does she know? Please, please, please… _

Byleth squeezed Marianne’s hand, trying to reassure her. “Marianne, you remember how I got this?” She touched her free hand to her hair, allowing the mint green tresses to fall through her fingers.

“You received a revelation from the Goddess,” Marianne answered in her small voice, her eyes down cast again.

“I received the Goddess’ powers,” Byleth corrected. “Before that I had heard Sothis’ voice, but to escape from Solon’s trap Sothis gave me her powers. I started hearing the prayers people offered to her not long after.”

Byleth allowed Marianne to sit in silence as she processed Byleth’s confession. “So, this whole time you’ve been hearing me pray for...that?”

Byleth nodded, and Marianne’s eyes immediately welled with tears. “And you came.”

“I will always come, Marianne,” Byleth assured her. “I want you to know how cherished you are.”

Marianne shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks even as her lips tried to turn into an unpracticed smile. “I prayed for the Goddess to bring me to her, and instead the Goddess came to me. Professor, I…” She trailed off, unable to continue.

_ Thank you. _

Byleth gave Marianne’s hand another reassuring squeeze, allowing her the time she needed to sort through her emotions. The girl continued to cry silently, hiccuping occasionally. Every now and then another  _ thank you _ would slip into a prayer, and each time Byleth would clasp Marianne’s hand tighter, reassuring her that the Goddess’ vessel had indeed heard her.

“I think our tea has gotten cold,” Marianne finally said as she wiped away the last of her tears.

Byleth picked up her tea cup and nodded. “We’ll have to make some more.”

Once they returned to the gardens with a fresh pot, Byleth and Marianne continued their chat as if a huge revelation had not interrupted them, but there was something much more easy in the way Marianne spoke. 

Byleth knew it would take time for Marianne to accept what she said. The healing process was not always linear. But Marianne knew Byleth would be there, she knew now that if she ever needed her Professor all she had to do was pray and she would not be alone.

Just as Marianne was telling Byleth about some of the birds she fed by the stables, she paused mid sentence as a blush spread across the Professor’s face. “Um, is something wrong?”

Byleth closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “It’s fine. Just Sylvain.”

“Oh...oh!” Marianne’s own cheeks began to redden, and a moment later a giggle escaped her.

At least Sylvain’s flirtations were good for something, Byleth thought, smiling as Marianne continued to laugh. 


End file.
